Viewpoints, Rep. Ron Stephens on 2019 legislative session

Rep. Ron Stephens

Saturday

Apr 13, 2019 at 12:12 PM

With every year that I’ve served in Atlanta in the House of Representatives, our community is always on my mind, along with how we can improve our state without too much government intrusion. It’s a great responsibility and privilege to serve alongside my colleagues, but I’m always aware of those I represent back home. Each legislative session has its ups and downs and this one was no exception.

In my opinion, the biggest successes this session are:

* House Bill 186, which creates a new hospital authority and allows money from the sale to be used for healthcare instead of expensive hospital-only care. It also prohibits medical use rights, allows the Cancer Treatment Center of America to convert to a general cancer hospital, one without restrictions on beds or residency requirements on its patients, gives the state the power to study indigent care by facility, and places limitations on who can block a CON.

* Funding for the Savannah Convention Center and providing tax credits for the rehabilitation of historic structures are also big wins. These two issues directly affect our community, and I’d like to thank Michael Owens and Ruel Joyner for their work on these initiatives.

As with each session, there are some disappointments and not every bill passes that I believe is good legislation. This year’s disappointments include the Georgia Major Airport Authority Act, which would have been a funding mechanism for airports; and House Resolution 327, which would have amended the state constitution and given Georgians the right to vote in the 2020 general election for a limited number of licensed casinos within the state. Taxes collected from casinos would have increased funding for the HOPE scholarship, which is currently at about 60 percent, and Georgia’s Pre-K program.

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